Abzee’s Golden Globe Predictions
The Oscar precursor season has kick-started with the National Board of Review, Independent Spirit and DC Critics declaring their best of the year nominees across various categories.
The Hollywood Foreign Press Association’s Golden Globe Awards, considered to be the ultimate precursor to the Academy Awards, will release their nominees on Tuesday.
As it has been my practice then, the following are my predictions for the Golden Globes across popular categories. These predictions are based on my assessment of the various films that I see, read about and their general traction during the precursor season.
Best Picture (Drama)
AN EDUCATION
THE HURT LOCKER
INGLOURIOUS BASTERDS
PRECIOUS
UP IN THE AIR
Note- I am leaving out Avatar out of my nominees because I believe since it releases three days after the nominations will be read out, the HFPA might not want to find itself in an awkward position should the film be unspectacular. Avatar’s chances might increase come Oscar time though.
Best Picture (Comedy/Musical)
(500) DAYS OF SUMMER
IT’S COMPLICATED
JULIE & JULIA
NINE
A SERIOUS MAN
Note- Yes, I’ve omitted The Hangover. I might be completely wrong and the film might get nominated, but I’m getting a feeling that the film, despite its stupendous box-office performance, is not something the critical and award bodies are warming up to.
Best Director
Kathryn Bigelow (THE HURT LOCKER)
James Cameron (AVATAR)
Clint Eastwood (INVICTUS)
Rob Marshall (NINE)
Jason Reitman (UP IN THE AIR)
Note- Although I’d like to see Tarantino getting a nod here, I have a feeling the ‘Eastwood’ love will eventually triumph. Also, this is one category where Cameron will most certainly be nominated, as a ‘welcome back’ sorta deal. Interestingly, Cameron will be competing against his ex-wife Kathryn Bigelow!
Best Actor (Drama)
Jeff Bridges (CRAZY HEART)
George Clooney (UP IN THE AIR)
Colin Firth (A SINGLE MAN)
Morgan Freeman (INVICTUS)
Jeremy Renner (THE HURT LOCKER)
Note- I’d be surprised if there were any surprises here. These look like a lock.
Best Actress (Drama)
Abbie Cornish (BRIGHT STAR)
Sandra Bullock (THE BLIND SIDE)
Helen Mirren (THE LAST STATION)
Carey Mulligan (AN EDUCATION)
Gabourey Sidibe (PRECIOUS)
Note- The Lovely Bones’ Saoirse Ronan might get the Peter Jackson film an additional nomination; in which case Bullock might suffer.
Best Actor (Comedy/Musical)
Matt Damon (THE INFORMANT!)
Daniel Day-Lewis (NINE)
Robert Downey Jr. (SHERLOCK HOLMES)
Joseph Gordon-Levitt ((500) DAYS OF SUMMER)
Michael Stuhlbarg (A SERIOUS MAN)
Note- This is a weak category, and I could be way off the mark here.
Best Actress (Comedy/Musical)
Amy Adams (JULIE & JULIA)
Marion Cotillard (NINE)
Zooey Deschanel ((500) DAYS OF SUMMER)
Michelle Pfeiffer (CHÉRI)
Meryl Streep (JULIE & JULIA)
Note- Again, this category could spring up a few surprises, but I’m certain that I’ll get 3/5 at the least. Adams and Pfeiffer are the shaky ones here.
Best Actor in a Supporting Role (Drama & Comedy/Musical)
Alec Baldwin (IT’S COMPLICATED)
Woody Harrelson (THE MESSENGER)
Alfred Molina (AN EDUCATION)
Stanley Tucci (THE LOVELY BONES)
Christoph Waltz (INGLOURIOUS BASTERDS)
Note- Nobody knew when Woody Harrelson suddenly sneaked up on everyone. In fact, this guy is pulling such traction that by Oscar time, he might just pose a serious threat to the hitherto considered a lock to win Christoph Waltz!
Best Actress in a Supporting Role (Drama & Comedy/Musical)
Penélope Cruz (NINE)
Vera Farmiga (UP IN THE AIR)
Anna Kendrick (UP IN THE AIR)
Julianne Moore (A SINGLE MAN)
Mo’Nique (PRECIOUS)
Note- This is the most crowded category of the year, and there is bound to be some heartburn. These look like the surest bet though.
Best Foreign Picture
MAX MANUS Man of War (Norway)
MADEO Mother (Korea)
POSTIA PAPPI JAAKOBILLE Letters to Father Jacob (Finland)
UN PROPHÈTE A Prophet (France)
DAS WEIßE BAND The White Ribbon (Germany)
Note- The Globes have fun with their Foreign Film category…unlike the Oscars who go for topical and conventionally ’signature’ fare. Remember the year Lagaan was nominated, the Globes extended its support to Monsoon Wedding. They nominated an Almodovar film, when his film wasn’t even submitted as the official entry to the Oscars. Besides, Rang De Basanti came this close to actually getting nominated! So expect anything here really, although I’ve gone with a more Oscar-friendly line-up.
Best Animated Picture
CLOUDY WITH A CHANCE OF MEATBALLS
THE PRINCESS AND THE FROG
UP
Note- I’m just going with a hunch on this. Except Up, expect anything here.
SATYAMSHOT 
December 12, 2009 at 8:17 AM
well abzee havent seen any of the above yaar… except only fact that will watch avatar next week at imax mostly
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December 15, 2009 at 9:19 AM
The Golden Globes nominations are out!
Best Picture (Drama)
AVATAR
THE HURT LOCKER
INGLOURIOUS BASTERDS
PRECIOUS
UP IN THE AIR
My score- 4/5. I was wrong in guessing that they’d leave out Avatar.
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December 29, 2009 at 1:59 AM
I knew AVATAR would make it in this instance…
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December 15, 2009 at 9:22 AM
Best Picture (Comedy/Musical)
(500) DAYS OF SUMMER
THE HANGOVER
IT’S COMPLICATED
JULIE & JULIA
NINE
My score- 4/5. I guess I was wrong about The Hangover. So the box-office love has translated across to the critics and award bodies after all!
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December 15, 2009 at 9:25 AM
Best Director
Kathryn Bigelow (THE HURT LOCKER)
James Cameron (AVATAR)
Clint Eastwood (INVICTUS)
Jason Reitman (UP IN THE AIR)
Quentin Tarantino (INGLOURIOUS BASTERDS)
My score- 4/5. I’m so thrilled to be proven wrong about a Tarantino omission. And I’m even happier that it’s Marshall who’s made way for him and not anyone else.
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December 15, 2009 at 9:28 AM
Best Actor (Drama)
Jeff Bridges (CRAZY HEART)
George Clooney (UP IN THE AIR)
Colin Firth (A SINGLE MAN)
Morgan Freeman (INVICTUS)
Tobey Maguire (BROTHERS)
My score- 4/5. I didn’t see Tobey Maguire coming… at all. And I’m sad that Renner didn’t get a deserved nom!
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December 15, 2009 at 9:32 AM
Best Actress(Drama)
Emily Blunt (THE YOUNG VICTORIA)
Sandra Bullock (THE BLIND SIDE)
Helen Mirren (THE LAST STATION)
Carey Mulligan (AN EDUCATION)
Gabourey Sidibe (PRECIOUS)
My score- 4/5. Abbie Cornish has been robbed! Her performance as the muse and lover of poet John Keats is easily one of the best female perfs of the year. I’ve got to see what’s the big deal about the Emily Blunt performance. Didn’t she already play this part some years ago on television?
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December 15, 2009 at 12:13 PM
Surprising that Cornish has been left out; I haven’t seen the film, but everyone I know who has seen it has raved about her performance…
btw abzee, your track record on this front is one to envy!
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December 15, 2009 at 12:26 PM
LMAO – Sandra Bullock for the Blind Side and The Proposal.
And when did Ritchie’s Sherlock Holmes become a comedy or musical? They put Robert Downey in that category.
The Golden Globes prove every year why the awards are a laughingstock.
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December 15, 2009 at 9:36 AM
Best Actor(Comedy/Musical)
Matt Damon (THE INFORMANT!)
Daniel Day-Lewis (NINE)
Robert Downey Jr. (SHERLOCK HOLMES)
Joseph Gordon-Levitt ((500) DAYS OF SUMMER)
Michael Stuhlbarg (A SERIOUS MAN)
My score- 5/5! Ha! In a category I believed I could be way off the mark! Glad to see Stuhlbarg getting through here.
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December 15, 2009 at 9:41 AM
Best Actress(Comedy/Musical)
Sandra Bullock (THE PROPOSAL)
Marion Cotillard (NINE)
Julia Roberts (DUPLICITY)
Meryl Streep (IT’S COMPLICATED)
Meryl Streep (JULIE & JULIA)
My score- 2/5. Well, I knew there’d be surprises here given that it was such an open category…but I didn’t expect to miss 3. The Streep double-dip almost inscribes her name on that 3rd Oscar. Haven’t seen the Roberts film, so can’t comment…but Bullock in The Proposal! That was standard Hollywood romcom…Pfeiffer’s illuminating turn in Cheri was so much richer.
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December 15, 2009 at 9:45 AM
Best Actor in a Supporting Role(Drama & Comedy/Musical)
Matt Damon (INVICTUS)
Woody Harrelson (THE MESSENGER)
Christopher Plummer (THE LAST STATION)
Stanley Tucci (THE LOVELY BONES)
Christoph Waltz (INGLOURIOUS BASTERDS)
My score- 3/5. Baldwin was always wishful thinking on my part. But is Damon’s perf, and more importantly length, worthy of a nomination. GoodFella, maybe you can help. Harrelson’s steady rise continues and he will be a threat to Waltz, that Cannes win notwithstanding!
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December 15, 2009 at 9:48 AM
Best Actress in a Supporting Role(Drama & Comedy/Musical)
Penelope Cruz (NINE)
Vera Farminga (UP IN THE AIR)
Anna Kendrick (UP IN THE AIR)
Julianne Moore (A SINGLE MAN)
Mo’Nique (PRECIOUS)
My score- 5/5! So, the surest bet it was!
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December 15, 2009 at 9:51 AM
The Golden Globes are a more overt popularity contest than anything else – Jeremy Renner’s exclusion from the best actor category is a travesty that’s also proof of this…Damon is fine for supporting actor, I suppose but if anyone deserves to upset Cristoph Waltz in that category (they don’t) it’s Woody Harrelson. If these awards bodies had any balls, they would have gotten Ben Foster up there in the best actor category as well…especially in a year where some of the best performances have hardly left an impression.
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December 15, 2009 at 10:03 AM
Agree GF…but atleast the Globes have fun, and are much more unpredictable than the Oscars who are always boringly predictable, and even when they do surprise, it’s usually an ugly one like Crash winning instead of Brokeback Mountain!
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December 15, 2009 at 10:06 AM
The Messenger truly moved me. In an ideal world, Foster, Harrelson and Morton would get nominated. I dunno why but I’m sensing Harrelson gathering immense steam until Oscar time. By the way, the Molina snub suggests that An Education isn’t as loved as I was expecting. I thought it was a fine film. But the costume drama of the year for me was Bright Star, and Cornish was spellbinding in it, I felt.
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December 15, 2009 at 11:40 AM
wow, quite a success rate there Abzee!
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December 15, 2009 at 11:48 AM
The Messenger for me had glimmers of the vastly superior The Last Detail although it took itself much more seriously, which is a double-edged sword in this case. I liked the film quite a bit but it’s missing some meat. I also thought Morton was good but somehow inappropriate. She’s a very delicate actress but I thought someone more “desirable” or suggestive would have fit in better, or at least someone who resembled in someway Foster’s other interest, Jena Malone.
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December 16, 2009 at 11:29 PM
Abzee, did you ever do a piece on Inglorious Basterds? I didn’t care for this much beyond the opening segment which was mesmerizing and a superb take on a classic Leone moment.
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December 16, 2009 at 11:41 PM
I saw it yesterday. Bit long but entertaining. I also liked the antagonist part.
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December 17, 2009 at 12:02 AM
Nah Satyam, the film came at a time when I was really busy. I’ve been meaning to do a piece on it though. QT never really impressed me post Reservoir Dogs & Pulp Fiction (the former, for me, is still his only ‘real’ film, in that it is in RD that QT lays bare his blue print for all his films to follow). While I do concede that there is probably no director to match QT’s fanboy-ish love of the movies, his later films have always seemed to me an exercise, no matter how undeniably terrific visually and technically, in propagating his own myth- a self-fulfilling approach towards filmmaking which I never quite warmed up to. Inglourious Basterds was the first time since Pulp Fiction when QT impressed me, in no less measure because he subverted his own incestuous relationship with cinema.
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December 17, 2009 at 12:06 AM
I am perhaps close to your sense of Tarantino though in some odd sense I have more affection for Kill Bill 1 than anything else in the director’s oeuvre.
That initial sequence in Inglorious Basterds though seems to me to be a better ‘homage’ on Tarantino’s part than anything else he’s attempted. The most obvious examples are the Kill Bill movies. But here from Lady Snowblood to Leone the ‘originals’ already seem to be a bit like Tarantino avant la lettre! In other words the sense of a postscript to an entire genre that is also ultimately comic because it’s reflexively ironic is a move already present in those older works. To ‘spoof’ Lady Snowblood or Leone seems beside the point. To look at it yet another way the older films are sort of Desai attempts, essentially comedies but which nonetheless take their ‘epic’ gestures very seriously. Tarantino though wants to deconstruct the latter as well and in some ways misses the encounter.
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December 17, 2009 at 12:31 AM
Ha! Trust you to not only manage to bring in Desai into an argument about QT…but also make an incisively valid point with it.
I can see what you’re saying and completely agree with it. QT’s approach is an inherently flawed one by virtue of his wanting to ‘deconstruct’ those past tropes.
Since you mention Leone, I can’t help bring Clint Eastwood into the discussion. Eastwood, unlike QT, never attempted to ‘deconstruct’ the Western so much as ‘reconstruct’ it with Unforgiven. Even in his later films, the master’s approach (be it M$B, Mystic River, FOOF & LFIJ) is a more ‘truer’ one cinematically, and ultimately a more interesting one, in that it continues the language and tradition of those earlier established genres and tropes without burdening it under the baggage of a post-modern rewriting of it.
To bring in yet another Bollywood filmmaker, and one that I greatly admire amongst all the filmmakers in the industry today, Vishal Bhardwaj always impressed me precisely because his Maqbool and Omkara managed to create that fine Eastwood-ian balance of having an individual stamp while staying true to an overall signature of the said genre. Which is why his Kaminey disappointed me, for it was the first time that Bhardwaj’s handling lacked ‘direction’…resorting instead to borrowed registers, all too familiar and none too authentic.
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December 17, 2009 at 12:44 AM
You’re absolutely right on Eastwood. In fact one should also include his much earlier Outlaw Josey Wales in this regard.
On Bhardwaj I’ve been a bit of a naysayer on Maqbool and Omkara. On the other hand Kaminey worked for me despite some problems. Some related comments from the other side here.
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December 29, 2009 at 2:02 AM
fourth time watching KAMINEY Satyam and still nothing! And i LOVE this genre…..somethings not right….I sitll find it Bharadwaj’s weakest film
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December 25, 2009 at 1:11 AM
Saw 500 days of Summer. Loved it. It is slightly slow and old story, but structured beautifully.
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